Children's Hospital signs long-term lease for Uptown facility

The fight to improve mental health care in the Crescent City is gaining momentum with a very public debate brewing over what will happen to New Orleans Adolescent Hospital. The facility was closed by the state in 2009.

A recent announcement that the Children's Hospital had signed a long-term lease for the Uptown facility seemed promising, but the hospital said relocating mental health services there is not financially sound, even though the deal requires a portion of the property be devoted to mental health care.

Two state lawmakers are stepping in, drafting legislation that could determine the next step.

For several months, Rep. Helena Moreno and a New Orleans delegation has worked with Children's Hospital to get NOAH back up and running. On Friday, she filed a bill that would throw out requirements that NOAH be reopened as a mental health hospital.

"With my particular bill, it allows Children's Hospital to purchase NOAH and it also lifts the restriction for them to have to provide in-patient psychiatric care at NOAH," Moreno said.

Children's Hospital has wanted to buy NOAH for decades. In January, it signed a long-term lease at $530,000 a year, which would reopen NOAH providing mental health in-patient and out-patient services similar to what was provided prior to Hurricane Katrina, which has since become required by state law.

"To put a restriction that we have to provide mental health services, I think is unfair," said hospital spokesman Brian Landry.

Landry said Children's Hospital has expanded its behavioral health services and is providing more care than NOAH previously offered. The hospital has 33 in-patient behavioral health beds, seven for children and 26 for adolescents. The facility also offers an outpatient rapid treatment program, an autism program, parenting education and counseling and extensive services for children who are victims of child abuse.

Landry said the hospital signed the lease to meet the deadline and continue negotiations with the state. He said it was signed with the understanding that the lease could be canceled in June.

"The reason for that was we would have the opportunity to present a bill in the legislature that would lift these onerous restrictions and also allow the state to sell the property to us," Landry said.

In response, Rep. Neil Abramson filed a bill to allow the state to lease the facility to Oschner or another operator if the Children's Hospital didn't comply with the lease terms.

To meet Abromson's mental health requirements under the lease, Landry said the hospital would need to spend $20 million to upgrade the NOAH facility, and then move its behavioral health services four block away to NOAH.

"The hospital cannot find a justification for such an insufficient use of scarce health care dollars," said Landry.

"Children's has signed a lease saying it's going to open. If for some reason they have changed their mind, then lets give it to somebody who will do the job," said mental health advocate Cecile Tebo.

Tebo believes Children's Hospital's existing mental health program only scratches the surface of the services needed in the city.

"The average stay for a child or adolescent going into that hospital is really only five days, and that really is just stabilization, that isn't necessarily treatment or long-term treatment, which is often the need for many of our youth," said Tebo.

Children's Hospital said it is one of the top providers for behavioral health care in the area, and that it will add nine adult beds in July on the Calhoun campus, those were closed because of state budget cuts. The facility also has the capacity to open 16 more child and adolescent beds on the Calhoun Campus.

Landry said a number of plans have been considered if the hospital acquires the NOAH facility, including expanding outpatient services onto the site. He added when the University Medical Center opens in two years, 49 adult inpatient behavioral health beds will become available.